Dec. 10, 2003
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's basketball team let a 14-point first half lead slip away, as cross-town rival USD rallied to win its second straight in the series, 65-50, Wednesday at Cox Arena. With the loss, the Aztecs dropped to an even 3-3 overall, while the Toreros ended a four-game losing skid to improve to 2-5.
"We fought in the second half, they just fought a little harder," SDSU head coach Jim Tomey said. "They made shots that we didn't make. It wasn't a matter of us turning the ball over, we just didn't execute on offense."
Aztec Courtney Fritz (Newberg, Ore.) matched a season high with 21 points, the second time in the last four outings the freshman has surpassed the 20-point mark. Aztec sophomore Ashlee Dunlap (Los Angeles, Calif.) recorded her third consecutive double-double and fourth of the season with 10 points and 14 rebounds, while guard Michelle Elliott (Pasco, Wash.) tallied 14 points to continue her streak of scoring in double figures in every game this season.
Fritz scored six of the team's first seven points of the game to give the Aztecs their first lead at 7-4. The Aztecs would continue to build that lead, jumping out to a 26-12 advantage on a Dunlap jumper at the 5:51 mark. San Diego then went on an 11-2 run to cut their deficit to as few as five points, including at the half, 28-23.
The Toreros continued their offensive onslaught, picking up where they left off in the first half with a 17-10 run to retake the lead at 40-38. The Aztecs would keep it close, retaking a four-point lead at 46-42 with just over 10 minutes remaining.
The SDSU lead would be its last as two straight USD three-pointers, one by Tiara Harris and one by Brandi Collato, put the Toreros ahead for good at 48-46. The Aztecs trailed by just five points with 42 seconds left in the game, but were unable to convert after USD missed two front ends of 1-and-1's from the line.
USD iced the game with four made free throws in the final 24 seconds, to give the Toreros a 65-60 victory, just its third in the 27-game series between the two schools.
Torero center Marta Menuez scored 17 points to lead USD in scoring, while forward Melissa Padgett added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
San Diego State continues its homestand Sunday at 2 p.m. against non-conference foe Southern Methodist University at Cox Arena. The Aztecs will be looking for their first win in three chances versus the Mustangs, who claimed the last meeting in 1998, 66-54, in San Diego.